Henan is a province of central China, located along the Yellow River (Huang He). The province covers the fertile central plains of China, and it is the cradle of Chinese civilization, as it was home to the former Chinese capitals of Luoyang, Anyang, Kaifeng, and Zhengzhou. With a population of 94,000,000 people, Henan is the third most populous province of China, and it would be the 12th most populous country in the world if it were to be an independent country.